The month of September was a month with a few stand out days, October however looks mouth watering with numerous days of note.

​October 4th-Waseem Muhammad Vs Min Wook LeeThe new month kicks off with an intriguing debut in South Korea. The bout in questions sees Pakistani debutant Waseem Muhammad (0-0) battle against Korean local Min Wook Lee (2-2) in a bout for the South Korean (KBC) Bantamweight title. On paper it looks a strange one but Muhammad is based in Korea and AK Promotions seem to have invested heavily in the former Pakistan amateur stand out. A win for Muhammad as we may see him become the first Pakistan born fighter of real note.

Shusaku Fujinaka Vs Randall BaileyOn the same card as Muhammad's debut we'll see an intriguing match up between Japan's Shusaku Fujinaka (12-5-2, 8) and American veteran Randall Bailey (45-8-0-1, 38), with the two men fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight crown. Fujinaka isn't a great fighter but this bout has garnered real attention with Bailey, a former multi-time world champion, bringing genuine attention to the South Korean boxing scene. With Bailey contracted to AK Promotions this could end up being the first of many fights in Korea for the “KO King”.

October 12th-Ken Shiro Vs Rolly SumpalongIt's again minor title action that has our attention as Japan's fast rising Ken Shiro (4-0, 3) battles against unbeaten Filipino Rolly Sumalpong (9-0-1, 4) in a bout for the WBC Youth Light Flyweight title. We've been impressed by Ken Shiro since his debut, last year, and if he wins here we're expecting to see him fight for a Japanese title in early 2016. Sumalpong on the other hand has gone under our radar but did claim the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Minimumweight title earlier this year and could himself be one to watch.

Yoshitaka Kato Vs Ricky Sismundo​On the same card as the Ken Shiro Vs Sumpalong fight is a potentially explosive Lightweight clash between Yoshitaka Kato (29-5-1, 9) and Ricky Sismundo (29-8-2, 13). This bout will likely go under-the-radar for many fans but it really does look like it could be a very special bout between two tough guys with under-rated power and under-rated skills. It is only scheduled for 8 rounds but it could end up being one of the best 8 round bouts of the year.

October 16th-Kohei Kono Vs Koki KamedaIn a genuinely historic bout fans will get the chance to see two Japanese fighters fight for a world title on US soil, the first time such a bout has taken place in America. The bouts will see current WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13) take on mandatory challenger Koki Kameda (33-1, 18) in what is likely to be a must win bout for both men. At 34 years old Kono will be unlikely to get another shot if he loses here to Kameda whilst a loss for Kameda would end a horror year for the Kameda clan, which has also seen Tomoki lose twice and Daiki suffer a huge shock loss. A loss for Koki and the Kameda's really will have lost the appeal they once had.

October 17th-Gennady Golovkin Vs David LemieuxIt's rare to have bouts with every ingredient, but we think we may have one here with hard hitting Kazakh king Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30) facing off against Canadian destroyed David Lemieux (34-2, 31). Coming into the bout both men are major punchers and world champions, with Golovkin holding the WBA “super”, WBC “interim” and IBO titles whilst Lemieux is the IBF title holder. Potentially this has “FOTY” written all over it, though could be over in a blink of an eye given the power, and styles, of the men involved. It's been a while since a world title bout had us this excited, and we've got it admit it might be a while before we see another, equally as exciting, unification bout.

Roman Gonzalez Vs Brian ViloriaTeiken promoted Nicaraguan sensation Roman Gonzalez (43-0, 37) looks to continue his rise to the top of the sport as he faces Filipino-American Brian Viloria (36-4-0-2, 22) in what looks to be another brilliant bout. Coming in to this one Gonzalez is looking for the 3rd defense of his WBC Flyweight title whilst Viloria is fighting to remain relevant in the sport. A win here for Gonzalez helps cement his place atop the pound-for-pound rankings and could move us a step closer to the potential super fight between the Nicaraguan and Japan's Naoya Inoue whilst a win for Viloria will give his career one more run at the top and continue his up-and-down career.

Donnie Nietes Vs Juan AlejoIn another title bout fans will get to see talented Filipino Donnie Nietes (36-1-4, 21) make his US debut as he defends his WBO Light Flyweight title against little known Juan Alejo (21-3, 13) of Mexico. The bout, which is to take place in California, is part of ALA's first US show and is part of their move towards establishing their outfit as a world wide promotional outfit. A loss for Nietes would be disastrous for both the fighter and the promoter, but he hasn't been matched hard here and it'd be a shock to see Nietes given any real problems.

October 19th-Naoko Fujioka Vs Hee Jung YuhFormer 2-weight world champion Naoko Fujioka (13-1, 6) looks to continue her brilliant career as she attempts to claim a 3rd divisional world title. The exceptional Japanese fighter faces South Korean fighter Hee Jung Yuh (15-2, 6) in a bout for the WBO female Bantamweight title in what looks, on paper, like a brilliant fight. Aged 40 Fujioka is certainly “old” but she's in great shape and will be favoured over Yuh, who has won 14 in a row. Interestingly Yuh is married to another fighter Young Kil Bae, who set to fight for a world title himself in early November.Hikaru Marugame Vs Jonathan BaatOn the same show as the Fujioka/Yuh bout is a great test for one of Japan's most under-rated prospects, Hikaru Marugame (5-0, 3). The talented Marugame steps up massively here as he takes on the highly experienced Jonathan Baat (30-6-3, 14), a Japanese based Filipino. A win for Marugame is expected, but Baat has scored notable upsets in the past, including popping 4 cherries and this is clearly a dangerous assignment for the 25 year prospect.

​October 22nd-​Momo Koseki Vs Ayaka MiyaoWe get the second world title unification of the month a week after the Golovkin/Lemieux bout as WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki (20-2-1, 7) takes on WBA champion Ayaka Miyao (20-5-1, 4). This bout has been on the radar of fans for a while and is finally happening due to the fact both fighters have, essentially, run out of worth while opponents. We're expecting a lot of action here and although it won't be the cleanest action it should be sensationally exciting and amazing fun to watch. Interestingly the winner will claim a place in history as the first ever unified Atomweight champion.

Satoshi Hosono Vs Hideyuki WatanabeJapanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono (28-2-1, 20) returns to the ring for his second defence in the space of about 9 weeks af he takes on the tough and gutsy Takuya Watanabe (36-5-1, 12). Hosono, a multi-time world title challenger, is looking to record his 4th successive defence but will be up against a man who simple doesn't know how to quit. Watanabe came to our attention last year, in the wake of his “bloody” bout with Jaesung Lee and having seen that war we suspect he'll go through anything in an attempt to claim the title. This could be the perfect bout to close out the month.

Recently a poster on boxingforum24 asked a brilliant question that caught our eye. It was a simple question, but one with a lot of possible answers. “Good Asian Prospects?” It lead us to wondering what we could narrow it down to. As a result we've decided to do a few prospects features starting with this one which has interpreted the question as “Who are the best Japanese prospects with 5 or fewer fights?”

It was a way to limit the list but also give some exposure to some perhaps lesser known fighters. For those wondering these haven't been put into a particular order but all men featured here have had 5 or fewer fights at the time of writing.

The first fighter that came to mind was teenager hopeful Takuma Inoue (4-0, 1), who fights for the 5th time as a professional in July.

The talented Inoue is the younger brother of the destructive Naoya Inoue and although Takuma doesn't share his brother's vicious power he does appear to have everything else in his locker. We've already seen him show exceptional footwork, timing, movement and hand speed.

Takuma does appear to be missing lights out power thus far however his competition so far has been exceptional with wins against Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, who he completely schooled in the video opposite, and Nestor Daniel Narvaes being very notable wins so far.

In July we'll see Takuma battle against Mark Anthony Geraldo in a bout for the OPBF Super Flyweight title. A win there would prove that Takuma is deserving of a very high world ranking and a world title fight in the next 12 months wouldn't be any sort of a short.

Notably Takuma went a sensational 52-5 (14) in the amateurs whilst clashing a number of times with Kosei Tanaka with all their fights together being very close.

The second fighter that came to mind was the sensationally talented Ken Shiro (3-0, 2), the boxing son of former OPBF and Japanese champion Hisashi Teraji. Ken Shiro isn't a man that has made the same instant impact as say Kosei Tanaka or even the Inoue brothers but he's on that same incredibly level of ability and in fact he's just as impressive as Takuma Inoue.Ken Shiro debuted last year, schooling Heri Amol though it was really his bout against Katsunori Nagamine earlier this year that boosted the youngster from “promising youngster” to “most watch prospect”. It was against Nagamine that we saw the youngster show off his defensive smarts and totally neutralise his naturally bigger foe who was later stopped by the referee. And for those interested it's that fight that can be seen in the video here.

At the moment we've not heard any news regarding Ken Shiro's next bout but the 23 year old will likely return in July or August. It's unlikely that that bout will be for a title though we can see Ken Shiro being moved to title fights very soon, probably early next year, and given his talent there is no doubting he'll take titles sooner rather than later.

If you like stoppages and an aggressive style then a man worth noting is Daigo Higa (5-0, 5), a Shirai Gushiken Sports Gym prospect who has really impressed so far despite being just 19 years old.

Although the most experienced man listed here in terms of fights Higa has fought just 7 rounds as a professional and has steam rolled everyone before him. That's included a genuinely impressive victory over Filipino foe Virden Rivera last time out, with Rivera being stopped in the 2nd round, and a win in South Korea against Pongpayu Chaiyonggym. We won't pretend they are sensational wins but they are very good for a youngster like Higa who has already experienced fighting outside of his homeland.

Higa is next expected to be in action on June 8th, albeit against a yet to be named foe. That bout is scheduled for 6 rounds and we suspect that be the end of the year the youngster will be moved to 8 rounds and may even be up against a Japanese ranked foe. He does need rounds though at the moment he's been looking like a bull terrier and is a frightening prospect given his style and power.

A wildcard entry of sorts is the “yet to debut” Hinata Maruta (0-0) who is widely regarded as the “next star prospect”. Although yet to make his debut Maruta has been sparring with the world ranked Shun Kubo, he has been showcased training in short videos released by Morioka gym and has been receiving really positive feed back.

At the moment Maruta is a wildcard though all the sounds coming from those in the know is that this kid is very special and at the moment he's only 18.

We'll see Maruta make his pro debut later this year, with a late summer or early fall date expected, and from then on we'll know if he's as good as the hype suggests. If he is as good as we're hearing then there is little doubt that he could be moved at a similar pace to Naoya Inoue or Kosei Tanaka. And that's despite the fact that he's likely to be fighting in, or around, the Super Bantamweight division.

Unfortunately amateur footage of Maruta is sparse however we have been informed that the youngster went 55-11 (31) in the unpaid ranks, often fighting older fighters due to his ability.

Super Bantamweight hopeful Hikaru Marugame (4-0, 2) hasn't moved particularly quickly, given that he debuted back in July 2013, though the 25 year old is certainly a rare talent and a lot of promise. The question with him will be whether or not he'll manage to live up to that potential in the long run.

Marugame made his debut, as mentioned, back in the summer of '13 and since then has scored notable wins over Roman Canto and Wataru Miyasaka. The Miyasaka fight saw Marugame taking a clear win but being forced to work hard for it against a very testing opponent who took the prospect 8 hard rounds. It now seems likely that Marugame will continue to compete in, or around, the high end of the domestic scene with the likely intention being to work towards a title fight next year.

Although not the biggest puncher Marugame is a former amateur standout who competed in a number of notable international competitions and he certainly has the experience from the amateurs to build a successful professional career. The question is how successful he'll be however and that's something we're hoping to find out in the coming years.

Sadly the only footage we've got of Marugame is his debut against Makoto Kato, which can be seen opposite.

The last of these fighters that we have some form of footage of is Genki Hanai (4-0, 3) a fighter who is expected to make his name around 105lbs or 108lbs. He's unfortunate to be over-shadowed by the likes of Kosei Tanaka and Ken Shiro though he is a talented fighter with an aggressive style and heavy hands. He's also proven his ability to go the distance, having surprisingly been taken then 8 round distance by Crison Omayao.

Hanai is the hope of Gifu and although he's not linked up with a big gym there is a lot of excitement behind him. In the very early stages of his career we under-stood that excitement though his last couple of bouts have slowed his momentum a little bit, despite their being positives to take from those bouts.

At 24 years old he doesn't have as much time to “waste” as some of the others on this list so we're expect him to be moved quickly over the next 18 months or so. Hopefully that will tell us how good Hanai really is, though something makes us feel that he'll be more impressive when he steps up to face better competition.

Sadly we've no footage of the the next two fighters.

At Welterweight Koki Koshikawa (4-0, 2) has been making waves and has been doing it quietly with out much fan fair. Part of why he's been doing it with out too much noise is his promoter, Celes Kobayashi, who doesn't have a huge TV and doesn't have the backing to give his man huge publicity. Despite that he has been very impressive, as seen in his debut win over Quaye Peter.

Koshikawa fights in a huge step up on June 8th when he battles former Japanese title challenger Koshimaru Saito. Saito will enter that bout as a ranked domestic contender though a win for Koshikawa would boost him from “prospect” to “contender”. Given how weak the Japanese domestic scene is at 147lbs there is every chance Koshikawa will be in the title mix by the middle of next year.

For fans from the west Koshikawa is likely to be the most notable due to his size and, like many others, he was a good amateur. We wouldn't say Koshikawa was an international star in the unpaid ranks but he was a very capable fighter. It was due to that amateur pedigree that he began his career in 6 rounders and why he is already being moved towards 8 round bouts. Given that he is now 24 he's a baby in the division but we do expect to see him matched very hard if he looks good in his clash against Saito.

Another man in, or around, the Bantamweight division is former amateur stand out Kazuki Tanaka (2-0, 2) who scored a genuinely outstanding win last time out, stopping Kaname Tabei in 4 rounds. The 22 year old Osakan is viewed as one of the best kept secrets in Japanese boxing and he's hoping to be moved towards a Japanese ranking later this year, a move that wouldn't be a shock at all despite his “novice” status in the pro game.

As an amateur Tanaka ran up a sensational 63-14 (14) record and it seems that the pro-style has suited him down to the ground already, especially when you consider the way he's been stopping opponents in the paid game. Unfortunately it may be a while until we manage to get footage of him in action but he's confident and talented.

With Green Tsuda backing him he's got a good gym with notable names, such as Nobuhiro Ishida and Yu Kawaguchi, there for him to talk to and get advice from the world really is his oyster. They key to Tanaka's future however seems to be just how much he can develop and how quickly he's moved. If he's given time at Japanese domestic level and the OPBF level to full mature then he really could go a very, very long way.

One more wildcard we'd like to mention is Keisuke Matsumoto (0-0) who isn't expected to turn professional until after the 2020 Olympics. The youngster has been featured in several TV segments, including this one here, and has trained alongside both Naoya Inoue and Akira Yaegashi, in fact Matsumoto's father and trainer is Koji Matsumoto who is also the trainer of Yaegashi.

It's really hard to say how good Matsumoto is, or will be, but the signs are that he could be another prodigy and may well be a real star of the future for Japanese boxing, even if we will need to wait a number of years to see how good he really is.

Images courtesy of-Celes Gym and Green Tsuda

Note-Kosei Tanaka has not been included on here as he's advanced beyond the "prospect" stage despite still being a "novice".

By now any boxing fan worth their salt has heard of Naoya Inoue (8-0, 7), they should also be aware of Kosei Tanaka (4-0, 2) and Naoya's little brother Takuma Inoue (4-0, 1). Aside from those 3 fighters however it's easy to be unaware of the numerous Japanese fighters breaking through the ranks, often at an incredible speed.

We have a lot of second generation fighters out there and they've certainly had mixed fortunes. One who hasn't had much of a mention in the west is Ken Shiro (2-0, 1), AKA Kenshiro Teraji. Ken Shiro is the 23 year old son of former Japanese and Oriental champion Hisashi Teraji and is tipped by many to exceed his father's achievements, with relative ease. The Japanese youngster made his debut last August when he dominated Indonesian veteran Heri Amol and then saw off a Thai opponent to move to 2-0. He'll look to continue his impressive streak on March 26th when he fights former Rookie of the Year winner Katsunari Nagamine(10-0, 6) in a massive bout between unbeaten fighters. If Ken Shiro is as good as he looks he'll see off Nagamine and then begin his hunt for titles.

The Ioka gym has been a conveyor belt of talent recently with a number of notable of names including former world champions Kazuto Ioka and Ryo Miyazaki. The gym also boasts one of the best selection of prospects out there with the most over-looked of those being 18 year old hopeful Takeru Kamikubo (8-0, 5). Kamimubo hasn't stepped up like some of the fighters on the list and in fact his best opponent so far was a domestic journeyman, however at just 18 years old he has a lot of time on his hands. Not only is he incredibly young but he also seems to have replicated a style that has worked for a number of his gym mates, including OPBF Lightweight champion Masayoshi Nakatani and Japanese Super Flyweight champion Sho Ishida, and sees him boxing on the move behind a clever and busy jab. Keep a serious eye out for this youngster over the coming 5 or 6 years.

Many fans likely haven't heard of the “Woz Boxing” gym in Kyoto but they may well have developed one of the sports most promising prospects in the shape of 22 year old Shohei Omori (13-0, 8). The eagled eyed may have seen Omori's name pop up in the world rankings recently, in fact at the time of writing he is ranked #14 by Boxrec.com and #12 by the WBC, but yet you're unlikely to have seen much about him unless you're a really hardcore fan. If you are a hardcore fan you may have seen him announce himself as one to watch when he dominated Christian Esquivel last May if you didn't then I need to advise you to keep your eye out for his upcoming bout against Japanese Bantamweight champion Kentaro Masuda(21-6, 11) on April 13th as that is a brilliant test and should launch Omori towards a world title bout in the next 18 months or so. Poised, talented, intelligent and a southpaw this kid has a really bright future ahead of him.

The Super Bantamweight division has had it's detractors and it's issues recently though all those issues have really done is lead to a bottle neck at the top with more notable contenders now than there have been in years. I wouldn't quite call Shun Kubo (6-0, 4) a contender as of yet, though it's clear he's heading that way and quickly. In his 6 fight professional career he has faced opponents with a combined record of 44-22-2 and has already beaten an OPBF ranked Filipino and a world ranked Mexican, or at least they were before Kubo got to them. He has also gone 8 rounds twice and is being readily tipped as the best Shinsei Gym fighter since Hozumi Hasegawa. Fighting out of the southpaw stance and stood at 5'7” Kubo will almost certainly be a nightmare for the 122lb division in the coming years, though footage of his is unfortunately scarce.

Another notable fighter to keep an eye on at Super Bantamweight is 25 year old hopeful Hikaru Marugame (3-0, 2) who some are tipping as one of the dark horse prospects, despite the fact he was a very good amateur fighter and has an excellent team behind him. He made his debut in July 2013 and although he's not been hugely active he has looked better in every subsequent fight. He was supposed to be “the other prospect” to the touted Naoto Uebayshi though from what I've seen Marugame is the better of the two prospects at the gym run by former world champions Shinji Takehara and Takanori Hatakeyama.

Super Featherweight, much like Super Bantamweight, appears to be on the verge of a brilliant few years. Among those expected to make an impact in the division is 25 year old Kenta Onjo (4-0, 3). Onjo isn't a big name, nor is he with a big promoter in Tokashiki, but he is among the fast rising prospects in world boxing and is expected to “come good” in 2015 as he moves up a level. To date his best win is over Kazuya Soma though he has already shown he can do 8 rounds, has spiteful power and appears to have all the skills needed to go a very long way. On March 16th we will see Onjo face his stiffest test so far as he goes up against Filipino veteran Jonathan Baat (27-6-3, 13) in what should tell us a lot about Onjo.It's well known that there aren't many Japanese fighters who look capable of competing at the world level above the typical “lower weights” but one man who looks like he has the potential to buck that trend is Celes prospect Koki Koshikawa (4-0, 2). Koshikawa made his debut in a 6 rounder, where he defeated current OPBF ranked fighter Quaye Peter and he has since gone on to defeat 3 more opponents while scarcely losing a round. Not only has Koshikawa been winning fights but he has been showing a real spitefulness in his punching which saw him blow away Sandi Korga inside a round last time out, in a bout scheduled for 8. Aged 24 it's likely that Koshikawa will be fast tracked to a Japanese title at the very least.

One more notable fighter to mention here is a man who hasn't yet made his domestic debut despite having won his first professional title. That is Riku Kanou (5-1-1, 3) who is a 17 year old youngster who has been making his name in Thailand. Kanou, who is known as Riku Kano on boxrec.com, made his debut in the Philippines in 2013 soon after his 16th birthday and lost to a local fighter. Since then he has gone 6 fights unbeaten and claimed the WBA Asian Minimumweight title. It may only be a regional title but it's the first step towards something major. The way Kanou's team is talking is as if they have a real target on their mind, taking their man to become the youngest Japanese world champion in history. At the moment that record is held by Hiroki Ioka, the uncle of Kazuto Ioka, and Kanou certainly has time to break the record, the question is whether or not he has the ability to do it.

For those wondering why many other fighters, such as Masayoshi Nakatani or Ryo Matsumoto weren't included, there has been a conscious effort to ignore current notable title holders here.

Thinking Out East

With this site being pretty successful so far we've decided to open up about our own views and start what could be considered effectively an editorial style opinion column dubbed "Thinking Out East" (T.O.E).

T.O.E is just a collection of our thoughts, rambles and general things related to boxing in the East.